


Choices

by TheMomeRath



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-26
Updated: 2018-01-26
Packaged: 2019-03-09 21:15:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 894
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13489920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMomeRath/pseuds/TheMomeRath
Summary: The G-Man has a responsibility to follow through with. Hopefully Gordon Freeman understands the consequence of his actions.~A very brief write-up of the end of Half-Life 1. Spoken lines are directly from the G-Man's mouth himself-- I've simply added motive, reasoning, and a bit of story.





	Choices

“Ahhh, Gordon Freeman in the flesh. Or rather, in the hazard suit. I took the liberty of relieving you of your weapons; most of them were government property.” The businessman cleared his throat quietly, the air quality in the trolley having taken quite a toll on his lungs. “ As for the suit, I think you’ve earned it.” He sucked a breath through his clenched teeth and hacked once again.  _ Curse this wretched atmosphere. _

“The borderworld, Xen, is in our control for the time being, thanks to you,” he continued, ignoring the pain that breathing inflicted as much as he could. “Quite a nasty piece of work you managed over there... I am impressed.” Parting his lips in a smile, his gaze searched Freeman’s face for any sign of emotion. He knew his smile was… unsettling. Yet somehow, perplexingly, Gordon seemed petrified, stone-faced, even, while he shuffled back and forth between his feet. 

He cleared his throat once more.  _ No matter. He did the job. _ “That’s... why I’m here, Mr. Freeman. I have recommended your service to my… employers, and they have authorized me to offer you a job. They agree with me that you have…” He drew a breath between his teeth once more, suckin in the wet spittle that pooled in his cold cheeks with what he was aware was a rather awful noise. “...limitless potential.” 

The scientist didn’t register any kind of emotional reaction. This was part of why he was a perfect candidate— he was perpetually unfazed, no matter the scenario. The man in the suit respected that. “”You’ve proved yourself a decisive man, so I don’t expect you’ll have any trouble deciding what to do. If you’re interested, just step into the portal and I will take that as a yes.” He gestured to the door to his left that slid open with a hiss, the sensation of cold air and intense electrical static causing his skin to tingle; a sensation he had once found bizarre, but that he had grown very accustomed to over the cycles. Pensively, he watched Dr. Freeman continue his shuffling in the train car. 

Dr. Freeman turned and looked about the room, seemingly taking in his surroundings while also taking a moment to try to comprehend the scope of his actions. The man in the suit could understand entirely why Dr. Freeman was somewhat reluctant to accept immediately— it was an intimidating prospect, after all, but it was clearly the best choice possible. It’s not as if there was a career for the man to return to if he said no. If he said  _ anything _ . 

“Otherwise… well… I can offer you a battle you have no chance of winning. Rather an anticlimax, after what you’ve just survived.” He didn’t have much time, as it was. The portal could only really be sustained for a short amount of time, and Dr. Freeman’s dallying was not something he had patience for. “Time to choose.” 

Dr. Freeman approached the portal slowly. His footsteps were agonizingly slow, especially considering his unwavering ability to make instantaneous decisions in the lab only minutes earlier. 

The man in the suit sighed, the breath catching in his throat, and cleared the irritation from his esophagus once again. “Time to choose.” He didn’t desire this mindless repetition, but time was of the essence, and it seemed as though Dr. Freeman was paralyzed with indecision in front of the portal. Turning between it and the businessman, Mr Freeman still seemed dumbstruck, not issuing any verbal response to the man’s statements.  _ We only have so much time _ , the man reminded himself, beginning to grow somewhat restless himself. This particular moment was always the worst, as it was. A lack of decision from Dr. Freeman would mean needing to do it all over again, and  _ that _ was an extraordinary amount of effort to be made for just a man. An extraordinary specimen, no doubt, but just a single man nonetheless. “It’s time to choose.”

Dr. Freeman finally seemed like he was ready to move once more. Stepping away from the portal, he walked to the back of the train car and stood in the aisle, arms crossed. 

The man in the suit exhaled in a croaking sigh.  _ I’ll have to work on something…. More suited to working in this environment next time.  _ “Well, it looks like we won’t be working together.” He brought his arm up to his chest, casually pressing a button on his wristwatch, and observed as Mr Freeman once again disappeared in a single blink. 

“No regrets, Mr. Freeman.” 

He knew what was coming. It was, after all, essential. It could not be risked for the scientist to escape, and even if he did, he would not have found much worth in the daily life following the events of the calamity. Events needed to progress, as it were, and they could only do so were this particular instance to come to an end.

As he exited the train car himself, he exhaled once again, his lungs rattling. It had been too many cycles. Perhaps, on the next one, Dr. Freeman would accept his offer. Hopefully, he would. The world truly needed him to. The future depended on it. 

But he knew there was a chance that… well, that this particular instance would repeat. And in that case…

There would be other opportunities, after all. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm hoping to have some time to work on my other Half-Life related projects in the near future, but i wanted to be able to put this out there, because I had a burst of inspiration upon listening to the soundtrack for a while. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed!


End file.
